RSS

How-To Geek

You’ve seen the SendTo folder in action any time you right-click a file and select the Send To folder from the context menu. What you might be unaware of is that you can customize the items in this menu.

Go ahead, right click a file. You should see something that looks like this:

To get to the SendTo folder, you’ll need to open up an Explorer window, and then paste in the following to the address bar.

%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\SendTo

%APPDATA% is an environment variable that actually maps to something like C:\users\<username>\AppData\Roaming.

You should now see a bunch of shortcuts:

Let’s say you wanted to add an item to the Send To menu to open files in Notepad. You could just drag a shortcut to Notepad into this folder, or create a new shortcut. Now you can see the new Notepad item in the menu:

This method should work for any application that allows you to open a file by using a command line argument.

THis is a great shortcut but I see a bunch of stuff in my right-click send to then I do when I view this folder. Mostly it includes all my drives that are in use. I really don’t want this. I tried installing TweakVI to help, but couldn’t find this as a setting in this version. Any ideas?

Leave it to Microsoft to make things more confusing. I dropped an Excel program shortcut into my “send to” folder so I could send downloaded, delimited txt files straight to Excel, and …go figure…it does not show up in my “right-click send-to menu”.

Thanks Microsoft, you’re the best! I wish all consumer products were as reliable as yours!

Well, on a hunch, I decided to create a shortcut from the Excel.exe file which resides in the Office Program directory. Earlier I had just copied the shortcut from the start menu and dropped that one into the “send to” folder. After deleting the first one and using the one created from the actual exe file, guess what?? It works now! Geeez! That was Easy! I bet everyone will figure that out..(yes, I am being sarcastic)

Why would microsoft create a shortcut to excel for the start menu during an office 07 installation that will not work when dropped into the “send to” folder? Why not create a clean shortcut that actually shows the Target as a folder/file location of the excel exe file rather than just showing “Microsoft Office Small Business 2007″? Or, at least assure that copies of that shortcut from the start menu would work everywhere else in their OS. I could SCREAM! This is just another example of the IDIOCY of microsoft’s development engineers’ thinking.

(..oh, what I would give to go back to the 70’s and snag QDOS before Gates ripped it…) It just hit me, the beginning of Microsoft was founded on “Rip & Burn”. Gates Ripped off QDOS and Tim Patterson got Burned!
How fitting.

Best solution of all: Create an item in the Send To list called “Modify This Menu”.
Make it be a batch file that executes “explorer.exe %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\SendTo”.
You’ll never need to remember this crap again.

What is it about Microsoft that every version of Windows becomes more complicated and obfuscated? They seem to think that arbitrary churn is the same thing as “innovation”. I had a friend who worked at Microsoft and said it was corporate culture to be rewarded for churn.

We’ve added a shortcut to the SendTo menu only for ourselves now. Now, has anyone done it for every user of the computer? I tried doing the trick in the All Users folder, but there’s no AppData\Roaming folder for All Users. Creating the same folder structure doesn’t do it.

Here’s a trick for guys who need to sort out files such as pictures. I organize my pics by date (ie. I have a folder named yyyymmdd ) and a subfolder called “_Trash”. I need a quick way of sending my files to this folder. So I created a _Trash.cmd batch file in the SendTo folder and the .cmd file looks like this:
move %1 .\_trash

Follow the steps above to get to the Send To folder, then navigate one folder back. You should be in the Windows folder, and several folders (Including Send To) should appear in the explorer pane.

Right click and drag the Send To folder and select “Create Shortcuts Here” on the context menu when you release the mouse. Now just name that shortcut whatever you wish (I call mine “SendTo – Create Menu Item”) and then move it into the Send To folder.

Now, anything you right click and point to the Send To context menu can be directed to this shortcut. Once that’s done, that program will appear on the Send To menu from then on. Useful for things like Notepad, or an image viewer, or any other application where you don’t want to bugger around with changing the default program a given file type should open with, but you either didn’t set a default in the first place, or just want to use a different program now and then.

1. HUGE functionality that seems to be missing now is the ability to create hierarchical SendTo menu items. If I create a folder in the SendTo folder, I cannot add subfolders or shortcuts to that folder to created a nested, organized set of SendTo items. Why did MS remove this functionality? Why?

2. Where is the All Users SendTo? Even when I delete all the default items MS placed into my menu, I need to delete all the stuff it shows for all users (drives, etc.) as well.

I’ve had Vista for all of ten minutes now, and I’m hating it already. I run OS X at home, and it is a superior OS to this junk.

I just picked up a the Samsung i760 smart phone earlier last week and finally got it set up so I can send files and music to the phone through the usb cable. I found this page and thought it would be great if I could add a send to link on the right click menu to the phone’s memory card. Unfortunately I can’t create a shortcut to anything relating to the phone at all. I thought it might be because it’s a removable storage device, but if I put the card into my card reader, or insert a jumpdrive, they show up. Anyone know a work around?

nNn- Um, I’ve been using Windows since 3.11. Perhaps you should stop making assumptions as to what I know and what I need to learn. Vista has issues, especially from the standpoint of usability, performance and efficiency. So many previously-working features are now broken (such as subfolders in the SendoTo), so many unnecessary bells and whistles added that do nothing but slow me down (for example, why do I have to wait 10 seconds for the dialog to pop up to ask if I want to move and replace, move and make a new copy or cancel?).

The last — nay, the only great OS Microsoft managed to put out was Windows 2000. XP was a joke, and Vista isn’t looking much better. (And yes, OS X is superior to any flavor of Windows. Hands down.)

So, back to my original question: has anyone figured out how to use subfolders in the SendTo?

I am trying to create a SendTo item that has a similiar function to the “Desktop (create shortcut) option. I want to be able to right click a file and have it send a shortcut of that file to a specific directory. I have written a cmd file that can do the copy, but I cannot figure out how to write a cmd file that creates a shortcut in the destination folder. How would I do this? Thanks!

Follow the instructions in the Create Shortcut Wizard.
A new shortcut is created in the SendTo folder, and it is displayed on the Send To menu.”

Then, I found that:
– if you right click on a file (in the Explorer), chose “SendTo” and then select your folder shortcut, a copy of the file is sent to your folder,
– if you left click on a file, then Ctrl+right click, chose “SendTo” and then select your folder shortcut, the file is sent to your folder it is a move on the file),
– if you left click on a file, then Shift+Ctrl+right click, chose “SendTo” and then select your folder shortcut, a shortcut of the file is sent to your folder which is what I understood you wanted to do.

I am an insurance adjuster and I have a lot of photos on my computer. They are organized into folders that bear the Insurance Claim number. From time to time a realtor, contractor, etc. will send me some photos, but they will be too large to import into my estimating programs. So, I have to use Picasa to downsize them. However, Picasa scans the whole drive every time I launch it.

Is there a way I can Ctrl+A all the photos in a folder, then right click on the group and then “Send To” Picasa? I have already placed the executable into the Send To folder, but when I try it, nothing happens.

I have the same question Fred asked back in January. The DVD drive isn’t in the send to folder, yet it shows up in the context menu. I will NEVER, EVER, EVER send a file to my DVD drive and I don’t understand where Microsoft got the idea that people would just willy nilly burn files to their DVD drives from a context menu. The idea of it seems just plain silly!

So my question is, “HOW DO I GET THIS USELESS COMMAND OFF THE CONTEXT MENU, MICROSOFT?”

it does not only do the old “open command prompt here” trick when right-clicking folders, but also works for the CURRENT folder (I always dreamt of that…) – just right lick into an empty space in the explorer window of the folder.

@Brian: So you’ve been using Vista for 10 minutes and you can already pass judgement about OS X being far superior?! Seriously, you’re being a MS hater and/or Mac fanboy.

I’ve been using Windows since 3.1. Vista is not half as bad as some haters claim it is. There are some questionnable design choices, stupid annoyances and some weak implementations but that should be expected of such a huge OS (remember, it has to support lots of things, not the least are legacy software and hardware and entreprise functionalities). Whenever (if ever) OS X can support as many stuff as Windows does, I’ll give it some respect. For now, it’s still playing in the little leagues.

Hold the shift key to SendTo a folder with move instead of copy. For My Documents you have to make your own shortcut in the sendto folder for this to work, the existing one (which is not a shortcut but a drop target) doesn’t work with move.

When you view your personal folder, the SendTo link appears in the tree in the left pane. If you click on it, it denies you access. You can change that so its contents can be VIEWED AND ACCESSED DIRECTLY just like any normal folder. Ie, you can drag-n-drop onto it, cut from it, etc.

In the following, you will be changing a single Security setting for that SendTo link. You’ll need to have Admin rights.

Open your personal folder, find and right-click the SendTo link in the left directory tree. Click Properties. Click the Security tab. Notice that EVERYONE’s special-permission is denied. With the blue-bar illuminating Everyone, click the Advanced button. Again with the blue-bar on Everyone, click the Edit button. Notice the field “List Folder / Read Data” is checkmarked DENY. Change that to ALLOW.

After OKing this change, CANCEL all the earlier windows that are still open underneath this one. (The 1st EDIT window may still appear with the original DENY setting. Just cancel it too.)

NOTE: Do not tinker all the other security settings you encounter or you will be in a sea of trouble.

For more insight on all this, see the article on this site about JUNCTIONS and SYMLINKS. By dropping to the command window in your personal folder (shift-r-click, choose COMMAND), you can type DIR /AH S* to reveal SendTo is a JUNCTION.

Ok, I have a question. what I want to be able to do is send some selected files within a directory to a new folder (also in that directory) without having to create the new folder manually first. Does that make sense? so windows creates the new folder for me and then sends the files there. I tried creating a new folder in the send to folder but it just sends files there rather than creationg a new folder in the currently selected directory.

Using the free TweaklV you can quickly add a Copy to: and Move to: on your right click menu … clicking on either one will allow you to choose where you want to send your file to. This will also copy or move whole folders.

This is one of the best, most intelligent, most productive threads I’ve ever read. Since the subject matter is arcane uses of the “send to,” I’d say my “most productive” opinion qualifies me as a true geek!

You guys are smart…and M$ cynical. This is my kind of board.

I copped several gems from this thread.
Thanks…everyone.

Special kudos to:
Blue March 15, 2007: Open sendto with “shell:sendto”
Paul June 22, 2007: Open sendto from sendto.
Bob Taylor: July 18, 2007: “send to” a batch file
Orc July 24, 2008: Open command prompt in current dir
Greg Bond: August 24, 2007: type command line into search box
Super special kudos to Mike October 18, 2008: Info on junctions, symlinks, and setting permissions on SendTo. I recently did a big scan of the web for that problem and had a really hard time finding a solution. Even then I didn’t get your great info.

Note to Paul June 22, 2007
Rather than use your command line that specifies the path to sendto, which may, and will, change in E A C H A N D E V E R Y new windows version, use the Shell:sendto suggested by others. That should always work in the future.

Bob Taylor: July 18, 2007:
Fantastic tip. That obvious tip opens a whole new world for the SendTo menu. But you don’t have to go to so much trouble for your purpose: just drop a shortcut to your “_Trash” folder into the SendTo. Then you can “send to” any file or set of files.

One person asked earlier on about how to create sub-menus, or rather complained that it couldn’t be done. I’ve not tried this yet on Vista – will try to remember to do so soon – but it’s actually REALLY easy to do. I’ve done this on at least one XP machine of mine.

1. Go to the Send To folder
2. In the white/empty space, right-click, and select “New Folder”
3. Name it whatever you want – this will be the submenu title.
4. Now anything you want in that “sub-menu” of the send-to menu, just stick in that folder same as you would in the main “send to” folder.

Problem solved.

I know this is a little late, so that whiny Brian probably won’t read it, but someone else might find this useful.

For all those who just talk about hating Windows and Microsoft, then why don’t you quit using their products?? I mean if they are so bad, then why not use the alternatives: Linux/Mac OSX?

Some things with Windows and various MS products do irk me, but frankly, I think they are the best all around OS, and MS is one of the best all-around software companies, as far as what they produce. Hopefully Windows 7 will make up for the headaches found in Vista. ;0)

You explain how to do “sub-menus” in SendTo and even bash Windows-haters, however:

1) What you explain does not work in Windows Vista. In Windows Vista when you create a subfolder in the SendTo folder and then select that folder from the SendTo option (this is done by [Right-Click] > [SendTo] > [Your Subfolder in SendTo]) it will not result in showing the items contained in that subfolder as sub-menu items, but in copying the object, which you right-clicked on, to that subfolder. And this is not what people posting above wanted — they wanted sub-menus.

2) You are quick at assuming that people who voice their concerns about and annoyances of Windows Vista are just Windows haters. Yet they are mostly people who have used Windows (and other OS as well) for a very long time and they cannot understand why features, which were good and usefull, have been removed from Windows Vista (and/or from previous versions) and why so many obvious defects in Windows Vista have to be corrected and improved by people who are not professional OS developers — surely Microsoft professional OS developers should have got this right simply by testing the OS for usability.

Please, before leaving any advice, test whether it works the way you explain. Why leave an advice which does not do what you try to explain? Even if it took you an extra day or a week to wait until you hed time to test your own ideas, it is worth waiting before posting here, otherwise the result is as the one above: useless posting. (Frankly, the above posting rather reminds me the Microsoft approach: claim something is great and does the job, when it clearly is not great and mainly it cannot do the job).

I have the same question as Don and Fred, how do you remove the DVD RW Drive or w/e from Send To? That’s the only thing I really wanted to remove besides Fax Recipient, and it’s the true problem, that last thing I want to do is burn via the Send To, there’s too much room for error, a mis-click every now and then. :(

I didn’t realize that Vista had changed the method of putting a folder withint he SendTo folder. Sorry for that. But rememember, I stated I had not used Vista.

As to the “MS haters” thing, I’m not talking about people with legitimate discussion, but those that just say, basically, MS stinks – things of that nature. There’s been both here.

If anything, this could prove to be an opportunity for someone to writeup a small app for doing this easily – and someone very well may have by now. If I had the time, I’d do enough research and do that myself, but time is not something I have extra. ;0)

I am glad I read the original article/posting, so I didn’t have to search for the folder when I wanted to – now I’ll remember just where it is. :0)

well, no one ever told the solution for copying problem instead of moving..
the right click + ctrl does not work in vista, it continues copying (annoying!) even if ctrl pressed..
tweakIV is useless as it needs to explore the whole computer to select the target folder…
any ideas??

In vista, when R clicking the “sendto”, it shows up as “gmail this page” or “Blog this page”. I don’t want to gmail the page, but DO want to email the entire open page to/via Windows Mail — just like Outlook in XP. This only sends a link to the page and only sends via gmail. Thanks!

For a simple “Command Prompt Here” send-to functionality, I created a shortcut to cmd.exe with the parameters /k “cd /d” where the /k on cmd.exe indicates to carry out the command and keep the command shell open, and /d on cd indicates to change the current drive as well as the current directory. My actual shortcut target line is %ComSpec% /k “cd /d”

Place the file in a location you will not delete it from (example – Documents/SendTo Data), add a shortcut and place it in the sendto menu, change the icon and perhaps shrink the cmd size under properties.

well job dude.
but i want advance option that is….
when select send to option i fine drives (extranl USB) i wnt popub expolere like
program flies -> acceseris -> system tool like tha can u help me plz. thq once again

I used to use the utility Pete wrote about above, the one named SendToX that allowed to send multiple file names to the clipboard for instance or send a file to a folder selected in a folder dialog and many more options.
I finally found a perfect replacement for it under vista at http://www.gabrieleponti.com/software/. A superb freeware : sent to toys V.2.5.
Thanks to some people, vista isn’t as pain in the ass as it was meant to be.

My first impression of windows 7 is that it is meant for children – really. Or for people who only look at their pictures or listen to music on their computers, or use the MSN messenger all day. Where is the “explore” command? If you do not want to open, but explore folders, navigate your files, it takes a few more steps than with the previous OS’s. What is it? Windows is more and more like Linux (since Vista) when it comes to folder structure and organization, and more like a wanna-be Mac on the desktop. Poor Bill, so rich and so insecure. All the steps to get to a control panel that can be used by an adult really upset me, the sluggish transferring speed (from comp to comp) is just like Vista. Finding a file on a Vista or 7 computer is just so frustrating. No wonder people are looking more closely at the other options. Macs now sell more than before, and companies have been using a flavor of Linux more and more frequently. Didn’t they screw enough with office 2007?

This was a great relief – I should have googled sendto+vista it ages ago!

While it is good to know that you can do this and that with modifier keys and right-clicks, I see it as terrible interface design not to ensure that everything is findable by a simple, uniform method, i.e. right-click and/or a menu structure.

thanks for the hit and i added mspains in the windows 7 send to folder as will as a bat file for talking text out of a vbs file i try to add a desktop 3D but it didnt work out i got a nunremove tep from it lol

Mac flamers will always be ready to invade a Win forum with their childish rhetoric, yet they have no idea what they are talking about, because they’ve actually never used an OS as it should be used. Those who’ve “switched” do so out of a desire to be cooler than they are, and then they realize they can’t get work done. There are always ways to do in Vista and 7 the things that you did in previous versions. The changes are not always good, in my opinion, nonetheless in most windows versions it is actually possible to never crash…and that’s not something that I can say about macs, having used them extensively in creative endeavors because of their ridiculous lies and propaganda.

I just discovered, read a few pages and joined:)
Great info here.
ok
1)…Win 7 Sendto with the Shift key held down produces a longer Sendto menu.
Where is the directory and the registry entries for this longer Sendto menu?
2)…How do I create an active Sendto sub-menu?

Example:
a)..I place a shortcut in my user Sendto directory;
b)..Rt. click on an object, a file, and select Sendto from menu, and then a destination directory… a copy of the file is sent to the destination directory;
c)..Rt. click on the file, select Sendto, press the Shift key, and select the Sendto directory… the file gets moved to the selected Sendto directory.

3)…Problem: I want to place a shortcut to my documents folder, directory, on a drive other than my C drive. In that folder there are other folders, sub-directories. I want to choose one of those sub-directories thru the Sendto menu item. HOW DO i create a shortcut in my Sendto folder that will present sub-menus when I right click an item I want to copy or move?

Actually, it is not that url, it is another, but there is a quick sort of hack and a shortcut to go there:

click start button, click all programs button, right-click on a shortcut and click explore, the window that will open is the folder of the shortcut of the program you just right-clicked, go one folder up and you there to delete or add all shortcuts that you like.

Hi there.
Is there a way to change the underlined character in a menu item. I am running a danish Win7. If I activate the context menu with the context menu key on my keyboard it shows me an underlined letter in each menu item. But my Send to and my Delete both have the letter ‘ t ‘ underlined. I would like the letter ‘ n ‘ to be underlined in Send to. How to do that?
MrPloops

It probably do the trick… not tested it, i’m not using it, but in a batch is a good solution. Not sure if it should be a %1 or a $1 (commandline option should be a %1 but inside a BAT file i think it’s always a $n….

@Adam: give a try to “Classic explorer” (google for it) and “Search everything!”. Not perfect solutions, but good enough.

I just found this explanation and the shell:sendto short cut.
thanks for those.

my question is, is there a way to send a file using send to that actually moves the file, rather than copying it. I’m cleaning up folders and it’s great to use Send To to quickly archive files but the copy I’m archiving still has to then be deleted, because Send To sends a copy rather than moves the file.

Thanks for the Windows + R tip. I used it to solve my missing Send To menus. It turned out a week ago that I’d Hidden my Libraries folder, which has been a hassle to put right. I ran Shell:sendto, which took me to the folder where those Send To shortcuts are stored. They were Hidden as well, so I just had to uncheck the Hidden box in Properties, and the right click menu has come back! Bingo.

Best solution of all: Create an item in the Send To list called â€śModify This Menuâ€ť.
Make it be a batch file that executes â€śexplorer.exe %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\SendToâ€ť.
Youâ€™ll never need to remember this crap again.

What is it about Microsoft that every version of Windows becomes more complicated and obfuscated? They seem to think that arbitrary churn is the same thing as â€śinnovationâ€ť. I had a friend who worked at Microsoft and said it was corporate culture to be rewarded for churn.

@ Dave York; it is September 2, 2011, almost 4 years after you entered your tip 9/5/2007, and today, your tip made me happy!
It always amazed me, how IT can show the soul of the individual; some very, very, convoluted, some others, very, imaginative and progressive. Count yourself among the last ones, as far as I am concerned, doesn’t matter what else says. Tata.

Holy crud, EVERYTHING i do in windows 7 has required a 10 page instruction list.
i used to do this in XP in 2 steps.
XP- there are 7 ways to do anything
Windows7 – It takes 7 steps to do one thing, and it will only work One way.

thank God for all the help provided here. even if i think my computer is partenered with the devil :-)
New to W7

I have a Send To item that emails the selected file to a specific address, without “Send to recipient”, without Outlook/Windows Live Mail altogether, actually! Works fast and silent and requires a single click.

You have to get blat insteadhttp://www.blat.net/ What is Blat?
Blat is a Win32 command line utility that sends eMail using SMTP.
Be cool. It’s VERY lightweight.

Because it’s command line you can write a batch file, then put a shortcut to this batch file in the Send To folder.
Here’s how:

1) First configure blat. Go to the command prompt and type this, with your own email settings of course. Example:

blat -install mail.server.com person@server.com 1 26 -u personsusername -pw **********
———————————
2) Now that blat is configured, create the batch file that’ll mail what you want where you want it… For instance mail a file from home to the office. Open a Notepad and paste in:

Change the receiving address above, as well as the sender (your address). D’uuuh.
(Right now the code above is set to write the name and extension of the file in the Subject of the email, and nothing in the body.)
Then save this as “Office.cmd” for instance.
———————————
3) All that’s left now is to create a shortcut in the Send To folder that points to this Office.cmd you’ve created.
Once you do this a new item will appear in the Send To… context menu – Office.
That’s it, you can start using it happily ever after.

(As a bonus tweak I like to give this shortcut a shiny neat icon and set it to run Minimized.)
———————————

P.S. Please let me know if you’re thinking of a cool new feature/upgrade to this trick :D

GEEK TRIVIA

DID YOU KNOW?

BillyÂ Hippopotamus (William Johnson Hippopotamus) was a pygmy hippo given to President Coolidge in 1927 by none other than tire titan Harvey Firestone. Billy was housed in the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. and is the common ancestor of most pygmy hippos in the United States.